review
Monday, December 9, 2024
Norwegians are the best. Listeners of Hemispheric Views will already know of the esteem in which I hold fürstenberg; who is essentially Norwegian me. We have many similarities across our respective histories; it’s quite fun!
Now, I’ve got another Norwegian to thank: Erland. I discovered Erland through Mastodon, I think. Although he also has a micro.blog site, so it could have been there. Like myself, Erland also seems to have an interest in notetaking apps, and his favourite is Paper.
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Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Update: 14 December 2021:
John, a kind reader of this blog emailed me to correct the record regarding the age of these apps. I imply below that Quicksilver predated Launchbar when in fact Launchbar is the oldest of the crop. In my usage, Quicksilver was the first King - it was my gateway drug to this application category. But Quicksilver was not the first.
A few days ago I noticed that Launchbar was consuming excessive CPU cycles on my iMac.
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Tuesday, August 17, 2021
By way of follow-up to yesterday’s review of Tot, I can confirm I’ve bought the iOS version.
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Update: The day after writing this, I bought the iOS version of Tot.
My friend and Hemispheric Views podcast co-host Martin Feld is Mr. Default. He likes Reminders. He like Mail.app. He likes Calendar. Not for him the world of OmniFocus, MailMate or Fantastical. No sirree. Keep it simple, keep it made by Apple. Except… he uses Tot. I’m sure he uses Notes as well, but Tot. Not Drafts.
I installed Tot on my Mac when it was released, because as with anything made by The Iconfactory, it’s worth a look.
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Thursday, July 22, 2021
I want to use and love BBEdit. I bought version 13 with a similar thought and feeling. That purchase seems like it was only a few months ago - in fact, I checked to see if I was eligible for the free upgrade. According to my receipt stored in 1Password, however, my v13 license was acquired on 21 December 2019. Time flies, especially in 2020, the year of our COVID.
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Sunday, March 28, 2021
The Archive owes its heritage to nvAlt, which owes its heritage to Notational Velocity — a unique piece of software that broke new ground by integrating new note creation with search in an Omnibar. I’m old enough to remember using the original Notational Velocity. The Archive is true to the heritage of the OG, but moves it in a direction specifically suited to the zettelkasten philosophy of note taking.
What’s zettelkasten, you ask?
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Sunday, March 7, 2021
I bought a set of Audio-Technica ATH-M50x to replace my ageing Bose QuietComfort 15s.
I’d already replaced the earmuffs on the Bose’s a couple of times. Now the headphones have the exterior coating of the foam flaking off. I was also getting sick of having to replace the AAA battery on a regular basis.
My headphones are basically restricted to desk use only these days, so I was happy to buy new headphones that didn’t feature Bluetooth - wiring into my EVO4 audio interface is fine, and in terms of latency and audio quality, preferable.
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Tuesday, December 29, 2020
I’ve been consciously taking more and better daily notes. Part of this is to build a greater awareness of what I do and how I spend my time. Part of it is to be able to capture and later resurface information.
I’ve tried a number of various solutions to this. I experimented with Bullet Journaling (with a pen and journal) and using the Cortext Podcast’s Theme Journal. However, paper creates too much friction considering that I am usually in front of a screen of some sort and I want digital information in any case.
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Monday, February 17, 2020
Have you ever used a pivot table in Excel, and thought that there must be a better way?
Have you ever built a Kanban board in Trello but realised you need a second axis?
Have you ever designed a table in OmniGraffle or PowerPoint and thought there must a more straightforward way?
I have. So I purchased a license for the Home version of HyperPlan.
My Uses to Date I’ve owned HyperPlan for just a couple of weeks.
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Friday, January 3, 2020
Agenda and NotePlan: two apps that ostensibly do the same thing. They provide a method by which to take notes with regard to meetings, projects and daily happenings.
Design Decisions Both apps have been carefully designed but have ended up operating quite differently to one another. Agenda feels practically overwrought. It feels slow in operation, fiddly with a range of sliding panes, non-standard drop-down menus and a hybrid rich-text/markdown environment. Everything that is put into the app is tied up into its proprietary datastore.
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Thursday, August 22, 2019
I have bought a license for MailMate - a mail application for the Mac. This cost me AU$84. Why pay that kind of money for a mail app, when Apple provide Mail for free, and I have access to a good web app for Fastmail and Outlook for work email?
I was happy to pay the money because MailMate is excellent artisanal software that offers unparalleled features and power. That money also goes straight to the single developer who has committed to this app for years.
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Wednesday, May 1, 2019
What Went Well at Home? Not having to go to work each day has allowed me to really find a rhythm in terms of household management. I could really get used to being a house-husband. What Went Well at Work? Another month of not being there — thanks Long Service Leave! Interestingly, I am not missing it at all. Clearly, I have a good mental balance between work and life.
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Saturday, April 6, 2019
The third entry in this series, reviewing my month that was.
What Went Well at Home? I started Long Service Leave, which is a benefit that becomes available after working for a single employer for 10 years. This time off has been wonderful so far. I have not at all missed work. I’ve disconnected my email accounts, am not answering calls, and am entirely disassociated from my normal work world.
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Friday, March 1, 2019
The second entry in a series, reviewing my month that was.
What Went Well at Home? I am still aware of my Year of Fun and applying the philosophy to my thinking. My son started a new year at a new school. He has settled in well, and we are very happy with our decision to move him to a different school. I met up for drinks with an old school friend; somebody I haven’t seen for 25 years.
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Wednesday, January 30, 2019
In the first of what may — or may not — be a regular series, this is a review of my past month.
What Went Well at Home? The first month of my self-anointed Year of Fun went well. I remembered the theme as I went about my days and it helped create a better attitude and a happier daily mood. Summer school holidays are almost done. Our family has survived intact which must be considered a win!
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